Motorsports Legend Tony Stewart Seeks Third Top Fuel Win This Weekend At NHRA U.S. Nationals in TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Dragster

TSR Teammate Matt Hagan Seeks Another NHRA U.S. Nationals Victory with
12,000-horsepower TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat Funny Car

By: Stellantis (Photo Courtesy Stellantis)

• Racing legend Tony Stewart comes to this weekend’s (August 29-Sept. 1) NHRA U.S. Nationals with two Top Fuel wins and battling for the Mission Top Fuel point lead
• Just 45 out of the NHRA Top Fuel points lead, Stewart brings the nitro Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Direct Connection Dodge//SRT dragster seeking his third 2025 NHRA win
• Stewart, a series champion in NASCAR, IndyCar and USAC, added to his great record by winning at the Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas and Chicago’s Route 66 Nationals 
• Stewart’s wife, Leah Pruett, finished one round out of the 2023 World Top Fuel title in the TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT dragster  and now serves as the team’s driving coach
• Stewart’s TSR teammate, four-time NHRA World Funny Car champion Matt Hagan, comes back to Indianapolis after winning last month at the Northwest Nationals in Seattle
• Hagan, the 42-year-old racer from Christiansburg, Va., has won the U.S. Nationals in 2016 and won two additional NHRA races at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2020
• Hagan is the track record holder at Indianapolis in both time and speed (3.799 seconds, 338.77 mph), which he set on Friday, Sept. 1, 2017 in the Dodge//SRT Charger Hellcat
• Hagan currently ranks third in the current NHRA Mission Funny Car points standings

August 27, 2025 – BROWNSBURG, Ind. – Racing legend Tony Stewart has continued to make motorsports history after his second 2025 NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series victory in May at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals at the wheel of the Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Dodge//SRT Top Fuel dragster and seeks a third Top Fuel win this weekend (August 29-Sept. 1) at the NHRA U.S. Nationals drag races.

Driving the new liveried TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Top Fueler this weekend, Stewart comes to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park looking to add to his impressive 2025 record in the 20-race NHRA Mission national drag racing tour with two wins and eight straight semifinal finishes. Stewart is currently second in the NHRA Mission Top Fuel point standings after 13 races of the 20-event NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series.

The NASCAR Hall of Famer has advanced to five final appearances this year and recorded his first Top Fuel win in April at Las Vegas and then took win No. 2 at Joliet, Ill., in May with a stellar performance in the final round over Justin Ashley.

With the Las Vegas victory, Stewart, the NASCAR Hall of Famer, became the first driver to win pro events in four different professional racing disciplines (NASCAR, IndyCar, USAC and NHRA), and not has to be listed as one of the most versatile and winning drivers in auto racing history.

Stewart’s crew, led by Neal Strausbaugh and Mike Domagala, has given “Smoke” a strong car this year as he battles for the NHRA Mission Foods Top Fuel World Championship.

Now, the NASCAR Hall of Famer comes to IRP this weekend for a third Top Fuel victory and take the regular season points title before the final six-race “Countdown.”

“It’d be great to win the regular season championship,” said Stewart. “We’ve been really consistent this year until the last couple races, but we’ve been in a way better position than we were at this time last year. I’m proud of our team and proud of everyone’s effort. There’s no better way to reward the entire team than with a bonus from winning the regular season championship, so I’m excited about that.

“I always think it’s cool when we can get the fans involved, especially by helping to pick our paint schemes for the U.S. Nationals. It’s our biggest race of the year and for Dodge to allow fans to have the opportunity to help us pick our paint schemes is really cool. Knowing that they were a part of picking our schemes makes them feel like a bigger part of our team, so that’s the exciting part. The best part is I haven’t even seen it yet, so I don’t know which one they picked, but I can’t wait to see it this week.”

Stewart’s TSR Dodge//SRT teammate, four-time NHRA Funny Car World Champion Matt Hagan, comes to the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in search of his second 2025 NHRA national event win with his TSR Direct Connection Dodge//SRT Hellcat machine after winning at Seattle in the NHRA Northwest Nationals. The Virginia driver has 53 career NHRA Funny Car wins.

Hagan currently ranks second in the NHRA Mission Funny Car points heading to Brainerd this weekend as Matt seeks a second U.S. Nationals win after taking the title in 2016.

“Coming into Indy with all those #2Fast2Tasty qualifying points and knowing they’ll get added to our total when they reset is really big,” said Hagan. “We’ve seen championships come down to two points, so every point matters. You don’t always think about it during the regular season, but then they reset, and it can add up to a round or two sometimes. The competition is so tough, so everything matters. We’re excited about heading to Indy. We have a new crew chief (Mike Knudsen) and I think he’s done extremely well. I’m excited for what the future brings.

“I think it’s really neat that we were able to engage the fans by them picking out the paint scheme we will run. I’m excited to see how it looks. Dodge is always on the cutting edge of great designs. We have a patriotic design this year with the red, white and blue. All the Hellcats we’ve run in the past have been great. The only thing that would make the paint schemes for the U.S. Nationals more special is if we can pull them into the winner’s circle and show it off on TV for four rounds on Monday. I’m looking forward to seeing how it looks.”

Nitro action for the upcoming NHRA U.S. Nationals begins on Friday, Aug. 29, with one qualifying round set for 7:30 p.m. EDT, followed by Saturday’s qualifying sessions at 12:30 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. EDT. Sunday’s qualifying begins with Top Fuel at 12 p.m. EDT followed by NHRA All-Star Funny Car Callout eliminations at 12:45 p.m. and final qualifying 2:45 p.m. EDT.

The final eliminations will begin on Monday, Sept. 1, at 10 a.m. EDT with the national telecast scheduled for 12 p.m. EDT on Fox Sports 1 and 2 p.m. EDT on the FOX Network.